---
title: "James Pearce says Liverpool have to replace £31.5m midfielder to prevent another poor season"
canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/news/james-pearce-wijnaldum-replace/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Sterling"
section: "Liverpool News"
published: "2021-05-05T08:00:00Z"
modified: "2021-05-05T08:00:00Z"
---

# James Pearce says Liverpool have to replace £31.5m midfielder to prevent another poor season

Liverpool have been at the heart of a transfer tussle with one of their longest serving players this season.

Dutchman Georginio Wijnaldum joined the club in [2015](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/georginio-wijnaldum/transfers/spieler/49499/transfer_id/1546979) from a then relegated Newcastle.

Since then, he has [helped the club to win](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/georginio-wijnaldum/erfolge/spieler/49499) the Champions League and Premier League, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup in between.

This season has seen the club try to [negotiate a new deal](https://readliverpoolfc.com/2020/03/16/liverpool-in-advanced-talks-with-wijnaldum-over-new-deal/) with the 30-year-old midfielder.

Both parties have failed to reach an agreement over a new deal, meaning we will likely see him leave in the summer.

Wijnaldum has been [heavily linked with a move to Barcelona](https://readliverpoolfc.com/2021/01/20/gini-wijnaldum-likely-to-leave-liverpool-this-summer-claims-journalist/) but his future club is still unknown .

Despite this, [The Athletic](https://theathletic.co.uk/)‘s [James Pearce](https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC) says the club must ensure they replace the Dutchman to prevent another poor season…

https://twitter.com/AnfieldWatch/status/1389489692559781888

It is easy to see where Pearce is coming from here.

He is obviously referring to the club’s tough time with defensive options this season after [injuries](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-liverpool/sperrenundverletzungen/verein/31) to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.

The pair were injured early on into the season and after Dejan Lovren’s [departure](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/dejan-lovren/transfers/spieler/37838/transfer_id/2988239) in the summer, left Klopp with slim pickings.

Another [injury](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-liverpool/sperrenundverletzungen/verein/31) to Joel Matip soon left the club with no senior centre-backs, and it is easy to see Pearce’s worries.

Plenty of rumours have surfaced over a possible Wijnaldum replacement.

The most recent being that of [Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar](https://readliverpoolfc.com/2021/05/01/liverpool-wijnaldum-aouar-transfer/), who would be a great addition to the squad.

The summer window could be an exciting one for the Liverpool faithful, so long as the club make the right moves.